All Forum Posts by: Chris Kennedy

Hi Mark, we work with VIP Construction Group, they do a great job and have a lot of experience. Most of their work is with investors. PM me if you would like details. Best of luck!

Hi Charlie,

If the property is a single family home or small multifamily (2-4 units) I think your best option would be to get a conventional loan on it from a big bank such as Wells Fargo, BofA, etc. You can probably get 80% LTV, a 30 year term, and a very competitive interest rate. If you can't qualify for a conventional loan, then your next best option would be a local portfolio/commercial lender, but you might find the loan is too small for them. If that is the case you can then go to a private lender or hard money lender, but the terms will not be as good. Don't let that stop you though. You could work with a private lender for the short term (1-2 years?) if you need to improve your credit before getting a conventional loan on the property. Just make sure that whatever you do you run the numbers conservatively and leave yourself plenty of debt coverage, that way you will always have some cash flow. Good luck on this project!

Hi Mylene, 

Is your goal to stick with all cash purchases rather than financing? I think if you were to consider prudent leverage on properties right here in Fort Lauderdale you could achieve much higher returns than you are currently getting, without having to go out of area. We are getting 12-18% cash on cash returns on small multifamily properties in Victoria Park. We have also done very well in other Broward locations such as sailboat bend, Hollywood, and other parts of Fort Lauderdale. There are probably great deals right on your doorstep, you just have to find them...which of course is the challenge these days!

Hi Kyle, welcome to BP! 

A real estate broker's license is required if you are leasing or selling property for a third party. It is not required if you are doing it on your own account for properties you own, or have an ownership interest in.  

As a side note, even if you are managing property for a third party, as long as you are not collecting any commission based fees (such as leasing fees), then my understanding is that a RE license is not required. 

You are still required to obey fair housing laws, etc. so from that point of view, the licensing course might be something worth taking, even if only for your own personal use. 

This is a great question, there are a lot of factors to consider and there have been some very good answers already. I think it really boils down to your personal investment goals.

@JD Martin gave a good example, but I think there is an additional benefit to buying 5 houses with leverage versus just one house all cash - the additional potential for appreciation. 

If you plan to hold your rentals for the long term and you buy them right, then it is reasonable to expect a moderate appreciation in value over time. A $100,000 house that appreciates 4% in value in one year is worth $104,000. This is true whether the property is leveraged or not. So in the example above, with a 4% appreciation rate, having one house would add $4,000 to your equity, but having 5 houses would add $20,000 to your equity. 

Since you mentioned you are interested in the BRRR strategy, you are hoping to benefit from the power of forcing appreciation in the property and then refinancing, hence it is even more important that you factor this into your strategy.

Cash flow will give you financial freedom, but cash flow is derived from equity. So in order to grow your cash flow over time, you need to grow your equity. Wise use of leverage enables you to do that much faster.

Hi Tarcizio, feel free to contact me via PM. We invest in, broker, and manage small to mid size multifamily properties in Broward county. Happy to help you, even if it's just a local contact you need for some advice on locations etc. 

@Darrin Gross No sales tax on annual rentals. If you are looking at vacation or short term rentals (less than 6 months) there are additional hotel/sales taxes. 

@Lennon Lee glad to hear from another south Floridian. We buy and re-position small-mid size apartment buildings primarily in the Broward market. We just find better returns there versus Miami. Happy to meet up with you if you are interested, and happy to show you some of the projects we are working on also. Regardless of the outcome, it's always great to meet local like minded people. Feel free to PM me. 

Hi Marty, if you plan to buy and hold in MG then I suggest single family instead of multifamily. You tend to attract a higher quality of resident (people looking for a permanent home versus transient tenants shopping purely on price). I think it is a tough area for multifamily investing unless you are prepared to be very hands on with management. We have experience buying, holding, managing, and flipping single family property in Miami Gardens, but have shifted focus to other areas because the higher quality of multifamily properties elsewhere. Best of luck!

Hey guys, just wanted to second @Account Closed's post - we're already expecting a solid group to come out for our Fort Lauderdale happy hour meet-up this coming Tuesday March 1st at Stout Bar & Grill. You can check it out here: Real Estate Investors Happy Hour at Stout Pub. Some of us may not need an excuse to drink beer on a Tuesday, but if you do - now you've got one!

Would love to meet like minded folks in South Florida!